VR as a tool for education

- SJ today uses VR to train drivers and train hosts in various work situations that can be difficult or dangerous to practice “in real life”. VR makes it possible to create, simulate scenarios and different situations for training, says Amir Haj-Bolouri, researcher and senior lecturer in Informatics with a focus on Work Integrated Learning at University West.

Amir continues:

- In research, there is no consensus on how to best design environments in VR for learning, so we want to study this in more detail. Among other things, it is important to evaluate the efforts made in the contexts in which they are implemented, in order to be able to develop design knowledge.

The project will, among other things, study how SJ designs and implements its educational initiatives with VR, what pedagogical challenges they experience, what advantages and disadvantages they experience with the current design and what the relationship between knowledge goals, performance and technology use looks like.

Lifelong learning
The project begins by evaluating two existing elements that are currently being implemented with the help of VR technology. This applies to the training of personnel for fire and safety on board trains and the training of staff on board the X2000 trains.

- The goal is that the project can contribute to developing the quality of VR pedagogy and thus contribute to increased lifelong learning for the staff at SJ. The method is of course transferable to other businesses, so we hope that we will contribute to more workplaces being able to use the knowledge for training in VR in the long perspective, says Amir Haj-Bolouri.

Contact: Amir Haj-Bolouri, amir.haj-bolouri@hv.se